The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1887-07-02

When tue OLHer SUI ceeueu IueLl
at their revels for the last three hours.
went to the top of the back staircase to see
them 60, gorgeous in purple and yellow sash
es, and curious lace adornments for the neck,
and displaying much magniicence in the
way of hair-oil and two. .buttoned white kid
gloves. Happy men and maidens to be going
to balll
went back to the vast drawing room, with
its Japanese screens and ivory cabinets, and
played all the waltzes ! could remember on
the somewhat superannuated piano. Then |
took up q novel and tried to read, and won
dered why no one ever wrote stories half so
delightfully."- interesting as the one Charley and
| were living through; and then began to
get absorbed in my book, even if it were an
inferior one; and was lost to all outside inha-
ences for awhile.
| cam back to the ordinary world with a
start, as the last page was turned. Surely it
was very latel / looked at my watch.
Twelve o'clock! l hastily rang the bell,
ashamed of having forgotten to give orders
that the house should be locked up, and one
servant told off to admit the rest on their re-
turn in the morning.
To my surprise, it was answered by the
very juvenile page boy, looking wofully sleepy.
"Prenticeln | exclaimed reprovingly, 'you
ought to have been in bed hours ago. Send
Sally to me, and then go at once"
please, Fam, they said as | was to sit
up and let the others in, but don't believe
they sc ever a comm"
"Let whom in-what do you mean?'i
''Why, please, Mrs. Jenkins and the first
lot didn't come back at all, and so the second
lot got so wild waitin, they said they'd just
20 off to the Grange at once and send 'em
home, and ] was sit up and let 'em in; but
that's an hour ago, and there amt sign of
/ "a I 1anff kaI hos, ~ t,li
two O'Clock"
sob. this is disgracelul!" | cried, linging
down the book that had been too absorbing.
''To leave the house alone with only you in
i'll never heard of such thingl"
"Yes. FAM; Prentice's eye cleaned
vindictively; ''they said | was too young to go
to balls, but they don't seem to think L IN too
young to keep out of my bed till daybreakl'
"There, that will do" / cut short the
story of his wrongs ruthlessly. "Just go to
the front porch and listen whether you hear
anything of them, and Prentice vanished.
l really felt very indignant at this abuse of
my generosity. Of course it was out of the
question for me to go to bed and leave the
house to Prentice's infant guardianship. and
the prospect of sitting up till two or three
o'clock in the morning to convenience these
domestic jewellers was hardly alluring. Be.
sides, was really angry at the way they had
behaved, and though quite willing to make
any excuse for the temptation to linger among
ball room joys, began to have dark suspi-
cion that it was all concerted thing, and
their fair promises had never been meant to
be fulfilled. Back came Prentice.
"Plcase, there amt a single sound. Shan't
| just run across the bowling green, and see
if | can't make 'em out coming along the field
path?" And | somewhat GROSSLY assented.
| Il, In f,nf
he was away SO long that decided he must
be enjoying the beauties of the night to an
uncalledfor extent, and went to the front
door to call him in. The whole ground in
front was flooded with blaze of silver moon
light, so exquisite in its soft brilliancy that
felt Prentice's lingering had heen pardonable
Every quivering leaf on the aspens across the
lawn was silver above and ebony below; every
blade of the short grass seemed glistening
with half unearthly glory; and the blackness
of the shadows beneath the pine trees only
served to throw up more sharply the mellow
radiance that bathed lawn and terrace and
open parterre with a Gala sea of Infinite love
liness.
Ny call to Prentice seemed to shiver the
silence as a stone breaks the smooth surf;:ce
of a pool. Once, twice, called-there was
not a ghost of an answer. A sudden swift
suspicion came upon me with the force of a
conviction. | shut the door hurriedly, and
ran up to the moonlit corridor above, from
whose window could see all across the mea-
dow path for half a mile or more, small
black speck was just visible against the illu
minated ground, swiftly fitting towards Cop
ford, and nearly already at the stile. Temp
tation had proved too powerful for Prentice,
and he had salved his conscience by the plau-
sible pretence of going to summon the rene
gades | knew pretty well what would be-
come OF that summons when once the fatal
fascination of the ballroom, or, still worse,
the supper, had settled upon Prentice's young
soul Probably | should be left in sole pos
session of Copford Manor-house till sunrise
next morning.
was not sensible of feeling the faintest
sensation of fear; was far too vexed. In-
deed, imagined | might spend my nights
alone there for month without fear of human
visitants-aDd did not believe in superna-
tural ones. 1t was not that that annoyed me,
but the feeling that had been the victim Of
a conspiracy, and that the servants had been
so over confident of my good nature and pro-
bable reluctance to betray them to my aunt.
| was determined they should not slip in
quietly on their return without my speaking
my mind, 80 ! malestioally descended to the
back door, which found on the latch, and
with great minuteness | bo.ted and barred its
every fastening. There was also tiny pos
tern door which opened from the back kitchen
into the thick shrubbery which now filled
what had once been fish pond in the early
days of the manor. houses monastic life. The
back kitchen was then the monks refectory,
and there was popular tradition that the lay
brethren used to sit at ease in this doorway
to catch the Friday dinner. The great open
fireplace was so close at hand that an agile
turn of the wrist might transfer the fish from
the pond to the frying pan itself. The shrub
berry grew so thick now where the fishes once
dwelt that no door was visible from outside,
but thought the ouprits might try to return
that way; so locked it safely too.
Of course l could not go to bed, only to
rise up at their return; so strayed about in
desultory sort of way, passing in my ram
blings the strong room, on the ground floor
where all the plate and jewels lived in safes
that we're neither ere nor burglar proof; but
| which were kept in chamber that was both,
with the additional protection of the under
footman's iron bedstead drawn across the en-
trance.
| noticed, with grim resentment, that the
bedstead was carefully placed as usual, but
that no one had considered it needful to close
the great iron door, with its secret lock, hp-
fore they left the jewels and tho plate to guard
themselves.
/ came Dy anu ny W tuc uousChScPSA SAOoth.
and sat down in Mrs. tHiggis own especial
arm chair, feeling very much out Of my usual
unruAled frame Of mind, A copy Of the local
paper lay unopened on the table, and to while
away the time l took it up, and ran my eye
carelessly over the columns. There was the
usual glowing account of the last garrison
cricket match; various chronicles of small
beer in the neighborhood. All at once | was
attracted by paragraph of a more exciting
character, and the next minute was reading
with a breathless interest something very diff
ferent from the ordinary rural intelligence.
at is with great regret" ran the article,
| ''that we haye to record another most daring
burglary-the third that has taken place In
this immediate neighborhood within the last
ten days. Heron Court, Sir Herbert Ashton's
family mansion, has been the scene of this
! latest outrage. 1t was entered last night,
/ somewhere between tYelye and one o'clock,
and large amount of most valuable property
piemnyed, no trace whatever of the depreda
tors being left, with the exception Of several
marks of skilfal operation upon the fastening
Of the back door, which was found open early
in the morning by one of the housemaids.
An alarm was instantly raised, and search
revealed the absence Of a considerable amount
--cs IL